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Ryoma Echizen
Ryoma Echizen is the main protagonist of the manga and anime series The Prince of Tennis. He is a first year student at Seishun Academy, which he attends immediately after his arrival in Japan after formerly residing in the United States. Throughout the entire anime adaptations, Ryoma is voiced by Junko Minagawa. In English, only for the first season, he is voiced by David Neil Black. Background Although only a first year in middle school, Ryoma had already earned notoriety through winning four consecutive titles in the American Junior Tennis tournaments – all in a little over a year. Due to his nearly invincible tennis play, Ryoma has earned the label 'prodigy' by the age of twelve. His good looks and confidence make him highly popular with ladies, although he seems not to notice, having his focus exclusively on tennis. He is the main protagonist of the series. Appearance Ryoma, being twelve-years old, is noticeably shorter than his fellow 2nd and 3rd year regulars; although he is at a similar height to all of his fellow 1st year peers and classmates. He has brown eyes (hazel in the anime) and green tinted black hair. His eyes are sharply shaped and big, giving his facial expression the look of a confident, yet childish, person. Ryoma’s signature clothing item is his Fila hat (however, in the anime the "F" for Fila is censored and replaced by an "R" for Ryoma). His shoe brand also belongs to Fila. He is almost never seen without his hat with the exceptions being when he is in his school uniform or sleeping at home. His usual tennis gear outside of his Seigaku Regular uniform is a white short sleeved collar shirt with the sleeves being red (along with the top part of his collar having 2 red lines) and black (or a very dark shade of blue) shorts. On occasions, Ryoma wears a dark-and-light red jacket over his white-red shirt. He is most often seen in his Seigaku Regular's uniform or his school uniform. In the New Prince of Tennis, after training in the mountains, Ryoma is seen wearing the Black Revolutionary Brigade Jersey. Also, after the mountain training, he is always seen wearing a band-aid on his nose, due to a small injury he received while training in the mountains. Personality He does not go easy on himself and pushes himself more, rather than letting himself rest. He is specifically a singles player, though he did try doubles once with teammate Momoshiro Takeshi. After seeing how bad he was at doubles, Coach Ryūzaki usually placed him in the S3 (Singles 3) or S2 (Singles 2) position. When captain Tezuka Kunimitsu goes away for rehabilitation for his arm, Ryoma and teammate Fuji Shūsuke take turns for the S1 (Singles 1) position. In the Nationals, Ryoma often found himself placed in the S1 position nearly every match. Ryoma has a habit of forgetting people that he finds insignificant or met for a brief moment. The first person he forgets is Sakuno which saddens her. Another person he forgets is Sasabe and his father. He also forgot Sengoku as they met just briefly. Whether he does this on purpose is as of yet unknown. His catchphrase (and favorite phrase) in the Japanese anime is "Mada Mada Dane", literally meaning "No, not yet" or "Not good enough", although the literal translation in Japanese is "You still have lots more to work on". In the American version, it is translated as "You still have a ways to go". In the Prince of Tennis movie Tennis no Ōjisama - Futari no Samurai, Ryoma supposedly has an older brother named Ryōga Echizen, but the latter is later revealed to simply be a child that Nanjirō took in a few years ago. In the manga, it was confirmed Ryoga is Ryoma's half-brother. Ryoma can be quite arrogant at times, but is usually able to back up his statements with his tennis skills. He is usually distrustful of other tennis players, and often provokes his opponent before a match. In the beginning of the series, Ryoma is not taken seriously by the other students at his school, especially at the Seishun Tennis Club. It is only after he beats two of Seishun's regulars (Kaoru Kaidō and Sadaharu Inui) that he gains respect from fellow club members. He is also unafraid almost to the point of recklessness, but rarely gets angry or out of control. In the TeniPuri family chibi episodes, Ryoma is the eldest son of the family and always creates all sorts of troubles. In other chibi episodes, he is mostly shown very skilled. At the beginning of the series, all of Ryoma's tennis skills are a copy of his father's. With the help of his team captain, Kunimitsu Tezuka, Ryoma realizes his need to develop his own style of tennis if he intends to reach his goal and defeat his father. With each match, it becomes apparent that Ryoma not only brings his potential to the front, but that he is constantly reaching a new point in the state of self-actualization – especially so during crucial points in a match. Although he views each opponent as a stepping stone of advancement, Tezuka soon becomes the wall that Ryoma has set up for himself in order to achieve actual greatness. Although Ryoma has a rather tunneled vision as to whom he considers a rival (his father, Tezuka, and Fuji), there are many that view the first year as just that. One of the more notable examples of this in the anime is Kevin Smith, the son of the tennis coach George Smith, who was defeated by Nanjiro Echizen fifteen years ago in defense of George's pupil Rinko Takeuchi, who becomes Ryoma's mother. Kevin appears later in the series in the "friendly" match between the U.S.A West Coast Region and the Japan Kanto Region. Kevin became obsessed with wanting to play Ryoma because of their pasts, whereas in the beginning Ryoma regarded Kevin's threats with a rather unconcerned attitude until he saw him play against Yamabuki's Jin Akutsu in the streets. Tezuka was unimpressed with Ryoma's attitude toward the matches, and as a result, Ryoma is forced to earn his place as a reserve player. Ryoma also cares much about his family cat Karupin. Once, Karupin follows Ryoma to school after he accidentally packs its toy into his bag. After he discovers the fact, he frantically searches for his cat around the district.2 Also, Karupin had followed Ryoma to the US Open tournament by sneaking into Ryoma's bag. He has many girl fans that are so obsessed with him. He currently doesn't show any interest in girls because of his dedication toward tennis. Occasionally, he has been seen dismissing them. Although his apathetic nature, he does show Sakuno his genuine concern. In the anime, he has saved her from time to time. In the manga (Chapter 306), he threw a tennis ball at a thief for making the prepared food she made drop onto the floor. He defeated everyone that he battled except against his captain, Tezuka. It should be noted that while he inherited his father's tennis skills and cockiness, his way of thinking seems to be more similar to his mother as he is shown to be quite serious, studious, and silent when possible. He finally defeats Tezuka and then returns to America for the US Open. Revealed in the manga, Ryoma did worship and adore Ryoga as Ryoga teased but Ryoma denied. They celebrated Halloween together, collected oranges together, and got into trouble together. This showed they were extremely close. When Ryoma witnessed Ryoga get into a car and leave him, Ryoma was devastated that he could not stop screaming out for Ryoga. This devastation could be the reason why Ryoma does not recognise Ryoga or because they have been separated for too long. Quotes *"You still have lots more to work on." ("Mada mada dane.") *("Chisu.") *"Bastard!" ("Nyaro!") *"There are some... who play tricks because they're weak." *(To Sakuno) "You bend your knees too much. And don't flip your wrist like that. You opened your shoulders too wide. And your hair's too long. You should cut it." *"But you know what? It feels better to beat someone at their own game." *(To Nanako) "It's so easy that I might make a stupid mistake." *(To Ibu) "I'm sorry, but I don't feel like losing before the Nationals. Of course, we won't lose at the Nationals either!" ("Warui kedo, zenkoku made makeru kinain de. Zenkoku demo makenai kedo!") *"People aren't data alone." *"To complete... that would mean that's the end, right?" *"It's fun tearing apart a perfect 'masterpiece." *"Don't be in such a rush. The ball isn't going to run." *(To Nanjirou) "Dad, I want to be stronger. Much, much more stronger!" ("Oyaji, tsuyoku nari tai. Motto, motto!") *“I’m gonna go all out.” (“Gangan ikuyo.”) *(To Akutsu) "Oops, sorry sorry. But, you shouldn't underestimate tennis so much." ("Ooto, gomen gomen. Demo, ammari tennis wo namenai ho ga i yo.") *(Against Akutsu) “You will be a good stepping stone.” (“Anta wa ii fumi dai ni naru yo.”) *(To Sanada in manga) “Hey, there are many monsters like you, lurking around in the Nationals, right?” (“Ne, Zenkoku ni wa anta mitae na bakemono, gogohoro irun desho?”) *(To Sanada in manga) “I will defeat you, and go to the nationals!” (“Anta wa taoshite, zenkoku ni iku!”) *"COOL Drive!" Category:Anime Heroes Category:Manga Heroes Category:The Hero Category:Leaders Category:Male Category:Titular Category:Arrogant Category:Kids Category:Wrathful